What has to be done to the old “blue box” heavy weight Pullmans to get them to a scale length with a meaningful window configuration? I’ve been trying to get back into the hobby and dug out a pair of old shells that have had the factory paint stripped off and I’m thinking it would be a fun project to cobble up a new car. Thanks!
Welcome Pete,
I’m guessing the prototype car you want to model is of the 80’ish length? and the Athearns are 72’
I guess I would start by finding some images or pictures of what you want to end up with, including window configuation, and then decide how you could cut up the cars you have, and splice them back together to what you want.
You might even figure a way to take a 3rd sacraficial car, along with what you have, to come up with 2 coaches.
I guess the easy way out for you is to find a heavy weight car that is already the right length, with windows the way you want, but what fun is that. I think you itchin to get out the razor saw and build!
I’m working on something kind of similar, in that I need a sleeper car 70’ to 75’ish in length to go with a train I’m building using the Athearn 72’ streamlined cars, and sleepers of interest are 85-89’ long.
So I’m going to be kit bashing my own.
I guess you’ll be kit bashing in the other direction.
Please keep us posted on your progress. I, for one, will be watching.
Mike.
[#welcome]
I’m not sure I understand where you’re going. You want to lengthen the 72’ Athearn cars to 85’?
As a newbie your first few posts are moderated so please be patient.
EDIT:
I went the opposite direction with a 85’ IHC Baggage car and kitbashed it to a 60’ Shorty Baggage car.
My post might have changed a bit Mel, as I was re editing as you posted.
Mike.
My layout is too small for 85’ cars, I only have 12’ between tunnels. Towing 11 72’ cars takes up 9’ plus the locomotive, my case a 18” Cab Forward for my SP Lark heavy weights. I use an E7 ABB configuration for my 10 car streamlined SP Daylight.
Mel
My Model Railroad
http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/
Bakersfield, California
I’m beginning to realize that aging is not for wimps.
There was a book published a while back (which you can still find if you search online) called “Model Railroading with Athearn”. I haven’t looked at my copy for a while, but IIRC it’s chapters are reprints of articles from the old “Model Railroading” magazine. Pretty sure one article is on doing what you’re asking about, extending 72’ Athearn heavyweights to correct length sleepers, diners or observations. (The heavyweight Athearn RPO, baggage, and coach cars are the correct length already.)
Probably be easier to just pick up and old AHM/Rivarossi 80’ Pullman at a flea market for $10-15 and just use that however…
I’m working on a DL&W baggage car from a chopped up Athearn round roof coach. I made new sides out of .060 styrene. I find that a razor saw is very therapeutic. (Rats! I wanted to add a photo here but I don’t have a hosting site to post from.)
I would suggest buying a Rivarossi heavyweight and selling the two Athearn cars.
.
You are attempting to do a lot of work to make something you can buy for $25.00 or less.
.
You could convert the Athearn cars to MOW service if you want to keep them.
.
-Kevin
.
While I “get” the idea of kitbashing the two Athearn cars into one longer car, I have to agree with Kevin.
The Rivarossi cars have received some criticism in forums such as this, but they can be made into decent looking models. I see them regularly at train shows for ten bucks or less.
Here’s a couple, although all of mine have been converted to coaches - my road is too short to need Pullmans, unless it’s a run-through car from a connecting line…
I used some New England Rail Services parts to convert this one into a solarium/lounge for local high rollers…
…and while I do have a diner, another one was shortened and turned into this combine, used mostly on mixed trains, doubling as the caboose…
Wayne
OK. I did some digging and looking. First off, the length is off by about one “section” which is one of the paired window groupings. So, cutting the second shell so it would leave one “section” plus what’s to the end of the car. Cutting off at the end of the sections of the first shell and grafting on the piece cut off the second shell would leave a “scale length” car. Now, here’s the problem. I found a floor plan ( https://www.santaferoute.com/2014/10/pullman-sleepers-compartment-and-drawing-room.html ) and that shows that the two sides of a car should be pretty much identical. This means that the group of four small windows (the smoking room and men’s lavatory) should be at the LEFT end when looking at either side of the car. This probably could be done, especially if I came up with a third shell but I don’t think I’m that ambitious at this point.
I mentioned the old AHM / Rivarossi cars because for all the work it would take to kitbash the two Athearn cars into one, about the best result you would get is something comparable to the old Rivarossi Pullman. If the OP wants to shop around a bit, he could also find better detailed recent Pullmans from Walthers and other makers.
BTW don’t get me wrong, I have quite a few of the old Rivarossi cars and like them a lot, especially since I have bought many of them at RR swap meets for as little as $10-20 - sometimes with an interior.
I might end up chopping up a Rivarossi sleeper to get a sleeper in the length that I want. Something to match the Athearn streamliners.
At first I felt I shouldn’t, but with what I’m hearing on the Rivarossis, I won’t feel so bad now.
I did find a ConCor 72’ sleeper, but it’s smooth side.
I like what the OP is doing. He wants to build, and he has the basic stuff to bash into what he wants.
Mike.
I’ve done the window thing on a Athearn passenger car. It wasn’t as difficult as I expected.
It came out pretty good but I thinks it’s a one time event for me.
If you have access to the MR All time Digital Archives, there is a very good article by the late Bill Clouser called “Stretching The Athearn Pullman” in the December 1960 issue. Bill also wrote an extensive article on modeling with Strathmore brand paper and illustration board in the February, 1959 issue and an article on painting and finishing in the March 1959 issue. Although 60 or so years old, all 3 article are well worth reading. I especially enjoyed the Strathmore atricle as it provided a facinating look at modeling out of material most of us would never consider today. Bill Clouser was a professional model builder and also one of the first small manufactures of very highly detailed “epoxy” (resin) cars, mostly in O scale. His work, IMHO was so good, it still deserves study today.
mark
Well, if it was me, I would just add some detail to them and run them the lenght they are. Oh, that’s right, that’s what I do now, with a fleet of nearly 200 Athearn, ConCor, and MDC “shorty” passenger cars.
As others have suggested, if you want full scale length Pullmans, just buy something else.
Nothing you do to an Athearn Pullman is going to make it a truely correct model, so why bother?
Personally I like the selectively compressed nature of 72’ passenger cars - and in fact, MANY passenger cars were LESS than 80’.
True, Pullman never built any 72’ heavy weight sleepers, but truth is passenger cars were built in relatively small batches and variations are endless - why obsess, you will never get it all correct.
Just my thoughts,
Sheldon
While I’d just run them as is, I gather that’s not your prefference. Thus I’m one more vote to just go with a Rivarossi or IHC version. Sell the Athearn’s to the right person and buy the right replacement you might well come out ahead with a few bucks pocket change.
First off, I’m new here so I have to wait before I can post again. Tnd.rail… Thanks for the MR article. Turns out that years ago, I was saving and filing away old issues of MR and I went digging and I FOUND THE ARTICLE!! I also have an old “All Time Index.” I had gone to the Passenger Cars, Construction and there were a whole bunch of references to “Pullman Cars.” It wasn’t there but it was located under “Stretching Pullman Cars!!” I’d still be looking. Also, I went Googleing “Pullman Floor Plans” and that led me to a Rail Road Museum in Texas. There, I found that J H Giessel had drawn plans that are in a '56 issue of MR. I still have to dig that issue out. But what I could see in the Museum’s web page (bad scan or copy or whatever) the car looks pretty much the same as the Athearn car. I’m thinking that Athearn used the MR plans and fore-shortened (Did you know that the word “non-hyphenated” is hyphenated, but the word “hyphenated” is actually non-hyphenated.) it to fit into their molding machine. I think that it was in the same Museum site that there was a copy of a 1910 railroad engineering publication that looks like the source of Giessel’s drawings.
Edit: J H Geissel’s Pullman drawings are actually in the Feb '66 issue of MR. Here’s a link to the Texas Transportation Museum’s posting the drawings: https://www.txtransportationmuseum.org/photos/col-mckeever/pullman-mckeever-07.jpg
Thanks to all for suggesting that it might be easy to just buy a Rivarossi car and be done with it. But, to me, I usually consider the journey to be of more value than the destination. I’m gonna cut some shells up. PS: What do you people use for picture hosting? (Preferably free hosting.)
Alright Pete, let the bashing and hacking begin! I love it.
I use Photobucket, but there are others, I’m sure you’ll get a few more options.
Mike.
I use tinypic.com and have had no issues with it and it’s completely free. [tup]